Tuesday, November 29, 2011

I've been a long time sufferer of headaches but I never knew what exactly to call them. Was it a regular headache, a tension headache or a migraine? Recently I learned that I indeed have been suffering from migraines but there have been ways I could have helped prevent them.

Migraines have really taken the front seat to my life, especially this past year. They affect what I do and when I do it and I hate that. I don't like something having control over my life like that.
When I have a migraine I feel so sick to my stomach, I want to be in a dark room and I definitely do not want to be bothered. But try telling that to a 16 month old, yeah... it doesn't work too well.

Like I said, I thought I just had really bad headaches but on the Excedrin Migraine site you can compare the difference between different types of headaches and it can help you understand which type of headache you might be suffering with.

What exactly is a Migraine? Well migraine headaches are a neurological disorder characterized by imbalances in brain chemistry.

Although the exact cause of migraine headaches isn’t completely understood, medical researchers believe that migraine headaches are caused by altered blood flow and abnormal levels of naturally produced substances in the brain. When blood flow is decreased, certain arteries dilate and cause pain producing chemicals to be released. Additionally, the dilation causes an increase in the natural substance levels. This makes the blood vessels lining the brain swell and creates pressure on nearby nerves. These nerves send pain signals to the body that are typically felt around the eye or temple region and can extend to the face, sinus, jaw, or neck.

Of course we all know that migraines are a more severe pain, more of a throbbing as apposed to a distracting, dull pain. But did you know that with a migraine you can feel the pain on only one side of you head, instead of both sides? If the pain is only on one side of your head it is not a tension headache.

To deal with my migraines I really do try to keep the blinds closed and ask the girls to keep the noise down but what really helps is taking Excedrin Migraine. In about 15-30 minutes the pain is usually gone and I can move on with my life.
Excedrin sent me a gift basket of goodies to help me relax. I received a list of amazing relaxation products like a therapeutic neck wrap that can be heated or frozen, a soothing gel eye mask, foot massager, and a back massager. All have contributed to my migraines not interrupting my life lately.
To prevent my migraines I've been trying to keep a migraine diary. It is used by doctors to track potential triggers and patterns related to your migraine. I use it to help track food I eat when migraines occur, duration of the migraine, type of pain I experience, amount of sleep I get, etc. And I've been trying to drink a lot more water since it's known to prevent the frequency of migraine incidents.

I was surprised to hear that things like diet, weather, and odor could all cause a migraine or worsen your migraines. I thought it was just stress and sleep. So to help your migraines you might try to avoid skipping meals, lessen your intake of food preservatives (e.g., nitrates, MSG), also becoming overtired or exercising in the heat can cause a migraine. There is a whole list you can check out here.

Do you suffer from migraines? I'd like to know how you deal with them. Let's start a discussion to help other suffers!(If you do not want to enter the giveaway you can still leave a comment with helpful tips)

Here's some quick fun facts though!

The average migraine lasts for 12 hours for those who don’t take any medication

Nearly two-thirds (61%) of adult migraine sufferers would willingly wait in a long line rather than suffer from migraine pain

A third (33%) would give up five percent of their annual salary

Other workers would toss their vacation days (26%) or weekends (17%)

And more than half (52%) would rather visit in-laws

More than three-quarters (87%) of working Americans would give up something for an entire year to never have to go through the pain of a migraine ever again

Eight in ten (83%) migraine sufferers confess that when they have a migraine, their family suffers as much as they do because of the impact it has on their ability to go about their regular routine

I know I'd do a few of those things if I could give up migraines for the rest of my life, what about you?
If you'd like to connect with other migraine suffers and see if Excedrin Migraine is right for you, check out their Facebook page.

Guess what? Excedrin wants to help THREE of my readers relax by giving them an Excedrin® Migraine Relaxation Basket!!

Monday, November 28, 2011

I am here once again to bring you another yummy option for the new Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches. Sure they are good plain and by themselves but I love to be creative and making something good taste even better.
I needed to make a quick dinner solution so after having Subway the other night I got some inspiration, a Chicken BLT or a CBLT if you must (inspired from the Bacon Chicken Ranch Sandwich).

Because this is a quick dinner I bought some precooked bacon to help save me some time. All you need to do is pop the bacon in the microwave for 20 seconds or you can put it on the stove for a couple minutes. I like the stove method better. While your bacon is heating up you’ll need to slice up one small tomato. I forget what these small ones are called but when sliced they fit perfectly on the bun so I opted for them instead of a huge Roma tomato.

Cook your chicken sandwiches - remember 45 seconds in the microwave, flip then 35 to 45 seconds - done!
When you are satisfied with the crispiness and heat of your bacon put a couple slices on each chicken patty.

Tear up some lettuce and put that on top of the bacon. Then you're done.
You can add some mayo or even ranch dressing but we like them without any of that added mess but I’m sure it taste delicious.

This literally took me about 3-4 minutes to make two sandwiches, talk about a super quick dinner choice!

I have one more sandwich option for you next week for breakfast so stay tuned for that!! To check out the other recipes I've made with the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches please view my Google+ Story!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All the opinions are of mine and my family's #TysonGoodness #CBias

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Family game night is a huge thing in our house, we try to play a game at least 3x's a week. Sometimes playing the same old games can get pretty boring though. Recently I was asked my Mom Central and UNO to try out a new game - UNO Roboto!

Anything that will mix up our usual game night routine I'm all for so I jumped at this fun blog tour.

The game is easy to use, and UNO Roboto guy helps to lead you through the start-up directions. To begin, each player (there can be between 2 – 6 players) is asked to record their names.

After that you can record a "house rule" which can be something silly like "stick our your tongue", or "stand on one foot". Bob (what we call our our robot) then tells you which player is first. Uno Roboto is like the UNO game you have always remembered. Each player puts a card down that matches the color or number of the discard pile. Bob (remember our robot's name) made the game fun because he would randomly call out that one player has to give another player all their blue cards or yellow cards, or tell one player to continue picking up cards until they reached a red card.

Our only "complaint" was that although the game was fun at first it became a bit confusing and we would always forget if we were suppose to be doing something or if we were now playing counter-clockwise.

We play with our UNO game almost every single night but most nights we do tend to leave Bob out of the game if we are looking to play a couple quick games before M has to go to bed.

If you want a fun game that the whole family can play then definitely check out UNO Roboto and check our their Facebook page for updates!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of UNO Roboto and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Thanks Mama is an online store that sells a huge variety of cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories, as well as toys, body products, items for moms and moms-to-be, and even nursery furniture!
Unlike other baby shops on Thanks Mama lets you create a gift registry on their site which is awesome! Thanks Mama gets my *Thumbs Up* because they offer info on donating to Children of the Promise, an organization that runs an orphanage in Haiti. Love anyone that participates in charities!

Helena-the mama behind Thanks Mama-recently sent us a couple OS FuzziBunz diapers to test out. But these aren't any ordinary FuzziBunz, we were sent the NEW FuzziBunz One Size Elite diaper.

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(Buttercream & Spearmint)

﻿﻿ So what's different with the Elite you may ask?
Well in my opinion there are a lot of new and different features that make this diaper just that much better. As you see below the bright white in the first picture is the Elite. Of course there is a color difference but that might just be that my old FuzziBunz have changed due to washing? I don't know but what I'm trying to point out is how soft the white one looks. And believe me it is soft!

The inserts are the biggest change as they are minky instead of Microterry. O.M.G. They are heaven! Seriously so soft, so thin but oh so absorbent! Just look at the thickness comparison of the old insert (bottom) and new minky insert (top). This makes the diapers so trim, the trimmest diaper we've ever used to be honest.

I do love me a pocket diaper but I mostly prefer to just have the insert on top, problem with that is it was giving Kendall HORRIBLE rashes because I recently learned that you aren't suppose to put microterry or microfiber against baby's skin because it will pull the moisture from their skin as well. Uh yeah, we definitely experienced that first hand with her open sores. Well with the minky inserts in the FuzziBunz Elite you can put it against the skin and no harm done just as you can with Hemp, plus I'm sure the minky feels amazing, lol.

Another huge thing I noticed was that even though it's trimmer the minky is much more absorbent the my other inserts. my husband John even accidentally put Kendall to bed with just one minky insert in instead of our usual two bed time insert routine! I was so mad at him because I just knew I would be giving Kendall a bath first thing in the morning and throwing her sheets and blanket in the wash but much to my surprise the minky held up and we didn't have any leaks. I thought it was just a coincidence but after testing it out it turns out that nope, with the minky insert we only need one to get us through night time. Other inserts, even hemp we still need two.

But if you do love using a pocket diaper for its intended purpose then you will be happy to know that FuzziBunz didn't change a thing and their huge pocket opening is still the same, if not a tad bigger in my opinion.﻿﻿

You can get some seriously huge man hands in this baby!

﻿﻿And the number 1 cool feature is that they changed the button placement on the Elites. FuzziBunz One-Size (or OS) diapers are customizable so that you can adjust the legs and waist using elastic button system. But now instead of having the buttons on the outside that touch baby's skin and may leave indents (we have that happen) they have moved the pull system to the inside of the diaper (you can see in one of the pictures above).
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no button and elastic on the left side!

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see, located inside so it never touches baby!

﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿ And now let's look at the trimmness of these gorgeous new FuzziBunz

See so pretty!
Thanks Mama is the perfect place to get your FuzziBunz Elite diapers because you can get so much more in one place and of course their Gift Registry option that other cloth diaper sites don't have.

Thanks Mama is giving one of my readers the chance to win a FuzziBunz Elite so let's get to it!

((If you don't see the Rafflecopter form below then please click the blog post title to open the page again. thank you))

You know all these yummy Tyson recipes I've been making the past couple weeks (Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken Salad Sandwiches)? They are all because I am a part of an amazing campaign for the new Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches.

Well I am so excited to tell you that this Tuesday - November 29th at 9pm EST Tyson and Collective Bias will be a hosting a fun Twitter Party!!

We'll be discussing snacks, quick dinner solutions and of course the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches, and give away awesome prizes just in time for the holidays!

Check out the #TysonGoodness RSVP link and check out the FABULOUS prizes they'll be giving away. But you can only win if you RSVP so get to clicking and save the date!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

I have been writing a lot of posts about what I am or want to get some other family members but what about me!
I did tell John that I wanted a diamond necklace or maybe a new wedding band but there are lots of things I want that don't cost that much money. At the end of the day of course I want our girls to be spoiled more then myself. Something easy like ellos pyjamas would be great for me though. I am a work at home mom so I do stay in my pjs most of the time unless of course I need to go out and run errands. Pajamas really are a great practical gift for me and I love this set I found. I am totally not the frilly, lacy type pj girl, never have been and can't imagine I ever will be.

While on Ellos I also saw some adorable outfits for the girls. At some great prices but after I added things to my cart I discovered that they don't yet ship to the USA so I was super sad. I emailed Ellos and asked if there was anything they could do for me though and they just added to my saddness by saying something around the lines of, "not right now".

So tell me, do you like getting clothes for Christmas and giving them also?

I have to admit, we are a pretty savvy family. We don't always have the BIGGEST and newest gadgets but we definitely try to stay up to date with the cool things coming out. We own a tablet already that is technically mine so for Christmas John has been begging for one. Actually he wants a Kindle and a Tablet to be correct.

So I decided to do some comparison shopping and research for some new tabs on the market. Did you know that Motorola made a tablet, because I didn't until recently! It's called the Motorola Xoom and you can get it a 16GB or 32GB.

I instantly noticed things I loved about the Xoom like the huge 10.1 screen, duel camera, and battery life. One thing I saw was that the Xoom has USB connectivity which is something I've never seen on a Tab. that means I John can connect his phone and upload instantly to the Tab instead of emailing them then opening and saving the pictures on the Tab (such a headache)!

The Motorola Xoom is equipped with the Android Honeycomb 3.1 so there are lots of apps to download and tons of free apps like Angry Birds and Words With Friends!

Convinced this is the Tab for my husband I headed to Best Buy to do more research and see it in person.
I saw lots of other Tabs at the store, more from brands that I had no idea made Tablets like BlackBerry.
I finally found the Xoom and it was pretty lightweight but it is thicker then my current Tab, but it's for my husband so I'm sure he won't mind. Viewing it in store I was able to see that you can have six home screens to categorize and organize applications! John is a huge organizer and loves to know exactly where his apps are so this would be perfect for him.

The Motorola Xoom comes preloaded with Google Maps, Google Movies, Gmail and Google Books! Yes Google Books so I can take care of two presents in one small package and price by purchasing the Xoom. There is no need for a book reader if I get John the Xoom! Check out my Best Buy shopping story on Google+!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I've been talking about time and time again now and my secret hiding spot is filling up with gift for the hubby and now I have one more to add to the pile! If you're clueless on something for your dad, husband, uncle, brother, son then I am here to help you! Phillips Vacuum Stubble and Beard Trimmer!

This powerful stubble and beard trimmer delivers superior trimming performance. The stubble comb has been specially designed to create the perfect stubble you want. The integrated vacuum system captures hairs for no mess guaranteed.(From the Phillips website)

HIGHLIGHTS:
» Contour following comb for a precise and even trim
» 18 secured length settings from 1mm up to 18mm
» Stubble comb designed to trim with more precision
» Maintenance free blades
» Multifunctional display
» Travel Lock
» Vacuum system captures cut hairs for mess-free trimming
» Corded and cordless use for maximum power and freedom
» Strong lithium-ion battery for optimal power use
» Turbo power boost button boosts cutting and fan speed

This powerful trimmer retails for only about $60 so make you sure get the guy in your life one of these and he will be so happy to open it in just a few short weeks! Want to win one? YAY! Phillips will give one of my lucky readers this awesome prize!

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**I was sent the product by the company or PR representative so I could write my honest review. The views are strictly 100% my own. Receiving the product(s) did not influence me to produce a positive review.**

Giveaway is open to USA only. It will end and close on December 7th@ 9:00pm EST. Any entries made after such time will not be counted and will be removed from the list. Winner will be contacted via email & will have 24 hours to respond. If winner does not respond their prize is then forfeited and a new winner will be selected.

I was asked to shop at Winn-Dixie and find some Rothbury Farms croutons and create a recipe with them. I love going to Winn-Dixie when they have their awesome Buy One Get One Free sale on meats. How can you beat that?

Also, Winn-Dixie has a gas club called FuelPerks. Every time you spend $50 at any participating Winn-Dixie using your NEW Reward Card, you earn a 5¢ per gallon discount on gasoline (up to 20 gallons) at participating gas stations.

While at was searching my Winn-Dixie for great deals I also tried finding the Rothbury Farms croutons but I had no such luck. I tried called 4 other stores in my area (even 14 miles away) but couldn't find one store that carried this brand of croutons.
I opted to purchase some Winn-Dixie brand croutons instead. Winn-Dixie makes 3-4 different flavors of their croutons but I already knew what I was going to make with them so I grabbed the Ranch flavor.

This Ranch Chicken I am going to make is crispy and full of flavor. Now I have changed up my usually recipe since I will be using the croutons but I assure you this chicken is amazing! Check out my Google + Story to see my full shop!

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﻿Start by putting some croutons in the chopping. The amount depends on how many pieces of chicken you are cooking. Maybe 1 cup for 4 whole chicken breasts.

I chopped them up pretty fine but if you'd like bigger pieces then of course don't chop it so much.

Add a packet of Ranch dressing mix.
You'll also need to add 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. I forgot to take a picture of this step :(

Place your chicken in about 4 Tablespoons of melted butter (you can pre-season your chicken like my husband thought would be nice of him to do for me. Usually I don't season them though)

Coat with the crouton/cheese mix then cook. Be sure to leave the chicken for a few minutes without turning so you can get a nice brown crust.

YUMMMM!!

Using the Winn-Dixie Ranch Croutons were so easy and make the chicken taste so delicious.
Want to see more of my story? Check out my Google+ story here

DISCLOSURE: This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All opinions and this chicken recipe are my own :) Enjoy!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

So last week I told you that I found these yummy new Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches, remember? I told you how I make Chicken Cordon Bleu!
This week I tried to think of a new recipe that I could make for when Makenna comes home from school. I decided on a super quick and easy Chicken Salad recipe.

I would love to tell you step by step measurements but to tell you the truth I didn't measure a thing since the sandwiches are so small and I didn't want a ton of the mix left over.

To start I mixed together some mayo and sour cream. Add in a pinch of salt, pepper and rosemary. Then chop up some celery into small pieces. Cook your Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches (45 seconds, flip then another 45 seconds) chop up the chicken and add it to the Mayo mix. Stir it all together then put a nice spoonful onto the sandwich buns. Guess what? That's all! Easy after school chicken sandwich snack!

You can check out my shopping experience and more pictures on making this sandwich on my Google+ Story.

There are lots of options to make some yummy recipes with these sandwiches so try to think outside the box especially since Thanksgiving is just a couple days away. Maybe a quick snack while your Thanksgiving meal is cooking by adding some stuffing on top of the chicken? Sounds delicious to me!

Remember, right a LIMITED TIME only (Tyson only has 2000 of these) you can earn a $5 Walmart Gift Card when you mail in two UPC box codes and your Walmart receipt. These yummy babies aren't at all Walmart stores either so head over to TysonGoodness.com and search for the closest location to you where they can be found :)

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. All the opinions are of mine and my family's #TysonGoodness #CBias

A few days ago I told you all about the Cheerios sendCHEER campaign and how I was excited to be involved in it. And now I am excited to tell you how easy it is to be a part of this great cause especially so close to the holidays where many won't get to spend it with their families.

These specially marked plain Cheerios boxes are only found at a Walmart near you so many sure you go there to grab 1, 2, or even 12 boxes! I recently had to go grocery shopping so it was the perfect time to grab some Cheerios while I was at it. Kendall eats them almost 24/7 so I knew no matter how many boxes I bought the cereal definitely wouldn't go to waste.

I found a huge display of Cheerios with all the campaign details right on the side. I picked up TEN boxes! I'm going to send some of the post cards personally but also, I'll be giving the other boxes to neighbors and friends so I can tell them about this great campaign and get them involved.

After I finished my shopping (check out my Google+ Story Here!!) I went home and let Makenna write on a couple of the cards and I wrote my own messages. I can only image how amazing a "Thank You" must feel coming from random strangers around the country.
Please go out and grab some of these post card marked Cheerios so you can send some love and cheer to the people and families that fight for our country.DISCLAIMER: This post has been compensated as part of a sponsored charitable opportunity for Collective Bias. All opinions are my own! Let's support this great cause!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

I can't believe it, my daughter turned 7 years old yesterday. I have no idea where the time went but she is so excited about being older. She is allowed to do some more "big girl" things this year but one thing I am not allowing her to do is leave her car seat.

We've tried many car seats and boosters but none really really comfortable for her or has safe as I would like. My daughter is so tiny, the shortest and thinnest in her class. She only stands about 40 inches and she is about 35 pounds. She eats like crazy so I have no idea where it all goes but her weight is a concern and always has been when it comes to her car safety.

Diono, formerly Sunshine Kids, has come out with a new, highly versatile car seat that has the highest rear facing limit and forward facing harnessed weight and height (57″) limits on a car seat that I have ever seen.
The RadianRXT Convertible Car Seat-Booster Seat-weight limit for rear facing is 45 pounds, forward facing in a 5 point harness from 20-60 and belt positioning booster until 120 pounds!!

The seat itself is almost 30 pounds which is really heavy for a car seat but that's because of the steel frame and aluminum reinforced sides. I figure the heavier the safer so it's a huge plus to me that it weighs a little more then the average car seat... since this isn't your average car seat.
The RadianRXT also folds up really compact and comes with a built-in carry strap so it's great for traveling especially if you have to lug it to the other side of the airport you can just throw it on your back and go.

The steel alloy frame, reinforced sidewalls, SuperLatch system, EPS foam surrounding the head and body are just a few of the many safety features that you get with this seat. A new thing to me was the SafeStop which is an energy absorbing hardness.
I started installing this seat without reading the manual and let me tell you first hand that you should NOT do that. This seat has so many ins and outs and it became quite stressful at times for me to install it but in the end those "bad" things turned into great features that other seats don't have.

We chose to use the seat as a booster and we used the LATCH system. I had no idea why the seat wouldn't tighten... until I read the manual again. To tighten we had to pull the lose strap through the front then I had to place my knee in the chair with my shoulder pressing on the back and pull. Lots of directions but once I followed them the seat would not and does not budge at all. John even tried moving it back and forth and it wouldn't move.
Notice the read writing on the bottom of the seat. That is a flap that contains an Emergency Child Information card underneath. You can write your child's name, birthday, allergy, medial issues and medication use on the card so if an accident does occur. I love that and it makes me feel just that much safer.

The Radian RXT has been NCAP crash tested and is approved by the FAA for aircraft use. My daughter loves her new seat and so do I. I also love that if and when Makenna does grow out of it then Kendall will also be able to use the seat since it has a 10 year experation date on it. Or if we have another baby then they can use the seat from birth on. Oh, and did I mention that you can fit THREE across in a Sadan type vehical.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

I've been blogging about those hard to shop for people for a couple months now in anticipation of Christmas approaching. Now I have finally found something for those whom I previously had no idea what do get them!

I was introduced to a website called Xperience Days and it's definitely a great place to shop for a truly unique gift and adventure, experience gifts.

So let's say your husband loves watching car races. Well you can search up your city then the activity you want to do (Driving Experiences), and even search by price. For me picking Orlando I found 10 different choices like Stock Car ride along, Speedway ride along, and Indy-Car ride along! How excited would your husband be to open up a gift and see a certificate to ride in an Indy Car?

There are lots of other things to choose from like a date night cooking class, helicopter rides, dance lessons, hot air balloon rides and so so much more.

Xperience Days is giving one lucky reader a $50 gift certificate to be redeemed for any of their unique gift experiences!

((If you do not see the Rafflecopter form below then please click this blog post title to reopen the page))

I love shopping for my girls but especially around the holidays. I try to be as creative as possible when it comes to their gifts but I know they are all about Disney Princesses, especially Makenna. Kendall even holds her baby doll around so this year I think it would be perfect for them to have some doll accessories like the Disney Doll Accessories that are just perfect for any little girl.

In my searches I found Grand Touring and I was definitely surprised by the prices they had for things like a Disney Doll Pram, Disney Doll Swing and other cute doll gear. The prices are cut so much that I would kick myself for passing up on these deals.

Right now you can buy the whole collection for the original price of just one of these items. The Disney Doll Pram is originally $89.99, the cradle was $69.99 - both now just $19.99! You can also find a regular "umbrella" stroller and high chair in this collection that is made of real solid wood.

You will be getting amazing quality at great prices that are a steal.

Hurry fast though because I'm sure they won't be in stock for much longer!

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About Me

I hate "about me" sections. Who can honestly break down who they really are in 1 or two sentences.
I'm a junk food lover who is trying to say "no", I love to sing and dance. I am pretty shy and not really the talker of the group. I have two amazing daughters who I cannot get enough of... but I love "mommy time" alone. I'm now a stay-at-home-mom trying my best not to go crazy.